La Llorona's Favorite Myth

Many myths and legends are told time and time again in Latin American countries. I come from a country where myths and legends are usually scary; therefore, Latin American mythology is quite different from the Greek/Roman mythology. However, there is this one myth that has been passed down from generation to generation since the late 1800s, that somewhat follows the same path of Greek mythology. It tells the story of a Goddess called “Maria Lionza”, she is considered one of the most important figures if not the most important one of Venezuela's indigenous past.

The legend, La Llorona or the weeping woman is one of the best known classic Hispanic tales. Many versions of La Llorona are told universally, but has origin roots from Mexico. This folklore typically involves a restless, ghostly entity as a beautiful lady dressed in white who wanders at night and is seen or heard wailing for her dead children. Because of a heartbreak la Llorona killed her own children. It is said that her soul now wanders sadly calling her children appearing mysteriously in different areas especially along rivers, oceans or other bodies of water. Many believe myths or legends are only for entertainment, but some can have an underlying message.

A Guatemalan native, a male graduate student that I work with in my research group at the University told this story. He came from the countryside, living in a small village back home. According to him, the story of La Llorona, involving a weeping woman, arose sometime in the 1700s and became well known both at school and home. Some claimed to have actually seen the weeping woman. Some disregard it as unscientific and implausible. No one is sure of the exact origin of this urban legend. This story was told to me and another graduate student in our research group while sitting in lab waiting for the experiment results. The story began as we started sharing our own background and the culture of our own countries when the storyteller

A number of cultures have stories of her, but, she seems to have originated with the Mexican people.

This is only a short snippet of a ghastly Urban Legend. An Urban Legend is a story circulated as truth and retold over and over again through word of mouth. They are modern day folktales or myths. This Urban Legend, La Llorona is popular throughout Mexico and Texas. She is described as the lady in white, looking for her children. This legend has been around approximately 400 years and has evolved greatly. This folktale began in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan in 1502, about a goddess named Cihuacoatl. It was originally a prophet about a soon to be conquest by the Spaniards.

In this case for our group project, we were informed to relate the story of La Llorona and how does the book So Far From God, author Ana Castillo, relate to each other. In addition, there is a specific character that reminds us who is related to La Llorona. For the people who does not know the story of La Llorona, she had two children and lived a happy life with a dashing husband. However, she starts to realize that her beauty is not being looked upon from her husband. Since knowing she does not get the attention like she use to before, her anger has lead her to throw her two children in a river. Realizing her mistake, she tries to find her childrens. With no sign of them being found, she is found dead at the river. Due to this horrible ending,

As responsible parents we try and find ways to keep our children safe. In this case La Llorona is used by parents and grandparents to frighten unruly children into behaving. They are threaten with La Llorona is going to get you if you don’t behave or if you’re out after dark without an adult.

Due to the fact that this young woman’s story shares similarities to that of Malitzin’s, some believe that this woman whose lover also betrayed her and she drowns her children is Malitzin better known as La Malinche. La Malinche is the native woman who assisted Cortes and while doing so their relationship grew deep, she became his mistress and gave birth to the first mestizos. A few years later Cortes leaves her for a Spanish woman. This betrayal causes La Malinche to take drastic measures when Cortes informs her that he is leaving back to Spain with his fiancé and plans to take his children with him. La Malinche then takes the lives of her children at the river because she fears that if Cortes takes them the prophecy that her child will

It is also essential to note that; during their journey back, the explorers would already have exploited their resources, and therefore, they would have little gifts to offer the natives to coerce them to have their way back. There were, therefore, more experiences of suffering from attacks from the natives, than there were in the first journey. However, since the return trip was not for looking for gold, the explorers would at times get their way and eventually they returned, however, a few of them.

La Lorona seems to be a personification of the classic myth. The Spanish documented events well; so, it is likely that the narrative is based, at its core, in truth. Its evolution from a tragic tale to a ghostly legend was probably the result, like countless ghost stories, of superstitious people trying to explain something they do not understand like a sound or mysterious wail heard in the night. As with all good stories, it spread quickly through the fireplaces and campfires of New Spain, then, to much of the New World. The legend was slightly changed as it was passed on, resulting in many versions. La Lorona illustrates the lengths some people will go to for revenge or survival. Some accounts testify that she killed her children for revenge

Lore; noun; a body of traditions and knowledge on a subject, or held by a particular group, typically passed from person to person by word of mouth; traditions and knowledge passed on; Many cultures have some type of lore that the people of that culture tell. For example, in Mexico, there is the lore of La Llorona. There are plenty of stories of how she could not stop crying for her kids at the river. Moreover, there is also lore about witches in Salem. People tell stories and write books about lore that is passed on.

A time when the country was in political havoc and crime was widespread. This was in fact the last place anyone would have wanted to born. Pedro was the seventh of the thirteen children born to a Colombian prostitute. Pedro’s father was the member of the Colombian conservative party and was killed in during La Violencia in 1948. In 1957, when Pedro was eight, his mother caught him having sexual relationship with his younger sister and Pedro’s worst nightmare came into reality. Pedro’s mother kicked him out of the house, forcing him to find his own food, and lives on streets. Soon, Lopez became a beggar on bloodthirsty Colombian streets and lost the hope of living a life as he could have before having an intimate relationship with his younger sister. However, things began to look up for Pedro when an old man picks him off the streets and offered him food and place to stay. Pedro being child at a time couldn’t possibly think of anything great besides having food and place. He accepted the offer and left with an old man. But, things were too good for a Colombian violent streets and for Pedro. Pedro being a child accepted the offer and went with an old man. Instead for Pedro going to a comfortable home with an old man, old man took him to an abandoned building and repeatedly sodomized him and returned to the

We also see one example of how women were treated in Mexico during this time period when La Luna’s husband threatened to throw her in the cellar for talking to a strange man on the street. There is also a glimpse of what Mexico was like at the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. Armed revolutionaries bust into

They're many African myths such as the gift of fire which originated from Namibia and Botswana. This myth did start with Gods or superhumans but an ordinary man named Kai kini kai kini was a descendant of primitive cave dwellers. His legend starts when the hero Gaolna sees kini using magic fire sticks and thinks the whole world should have it. So,Gaolna takes the sticks and runs with it. He breaks pieces off and throws them all over the world. Thus, the fire that belonged to only kini now belonged to everyone. Pretty interesting story right. Well, that’s not the only gift of fire store . Africa has some fifty different nations within its nearly twelve million square miles of territory . Those nations in turns are populated by three thousand

There once was a god named Perculus, he was one of the three lost gods that were destroyed by Zeus. He was the god of education; he was responsible for teaching all the citizens of Greece the basic ways of living. Once Zeus got into power he was jealous that someone other than himself was teaching the citizens so he sent him to Hades, along with two other gods for other personal reasons, Diminutive the original god of Truth and, Gargantuan the god of punishment.